Paper, Image, IRD-All the Bases Are Covered

Paper, Image, IRD-All the Bases Are Covered

Article excerpt

Given new impetus by the Check 21 Act, the banking industry is moving inexorably toward image exchange of checks. Yet the process isn't a slam dunk. As described in Tech Topics, on page 53 of this issue, there are many hurdles yet remaining, particularly on the receiving end of the transaction. So checks and their hybrid cousins, the image replacement documents (IRDs) created by the new law, are with us for a while longer. None of this fazes Fiserv, Inc., the largest third-party check processing provider.

In an interview at the Retail Delivery Conference, Dean Schmelzer, group president--marketing and sales, conceded that he thought IRD volume would be bigger on Oct. 28, the first day Check 21 took effect. He said Fiserv processed about 3,000 IRDs that day, which then kicked up to 10,000 a day by the time of the conference in mid-November.

Schmelzer described the movement toward image exchange as being like a "duck in the water"--things are placid on top of the water, but those feet are moving quickly underneath. …